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Old Worthington Businesses

By Maureen McCabe

Real Estate Agent with HER Realtors

June 06, 2011 01:51 AM

Old Worthington Businesses in the 1940's?

Old Worthington businesses

The photo is compliments of Dok1 on Flickr, Don O'Brien. Don O'Brien grew up in the Worthington area and photographed the streets of Worthington, primarily in the 1930s and 1940s. The businesses are car dealerships and a gas station? Looks like there was a car wash... maybe "service station."

Don O'Brien wrote about the photo on Flickr:

"The view is of the east side of High Street (US23) just north of New England. Clark Chevrolet is at the left and Worthington Motor Sales in the center."

He identifies the photo as 1949 and says he took it for a geography class at OSU.

Old Worthington Businesses today...

I think from Don O'Brien's description Clark Chevrolet is Graeter's today.... This photo of the north east corner of High Street and New England Avenue would be where House Wine is now.... and other Worthington businesses including Rivage Atlantique, the new restaurant in Worthington.

Across the street on the west side of High St. today, the Blue Frost Cupcake opened on High St. in late 2010. Formerly 'Fine Lines' a stationary store and long ago a general store? In 2009 I wrote:

"Fine Lines' is at 657 High Street in Worthington, in Old... Olde Worthington. The story goes the building on High Street just north of the Worthington Inn was built in 1890 as a general store." Or is that just a ghost story? There are some newer buildings mixed in among the true old buildings.

New businesses in Old Worthington - Future

Real Living HER Worthington is moving to the Kilbourne Commercial Building. Real Living HER is moving downtown... Most recently housing The Curio Cabinet, the building known as the Kilbourne Commercial Building has been many things before. The Kilbourne Commercial Building was Corbin's Funeral Home. It was an inn or tavern in stage coach days. It was a residence. A surveyors office, James Kilbourne, founder of Worthington was a surveyor.

The south end of the Kilbourne Commercial Building is going to be an "oil" business. My source for "what's going on in Worthington?" assures me that it is not a Jiffy Lube going in next door to Real Living HER, Ohio's oldest continually used commercial building. I read someplace that is the claim to fame for the Kilbourne Commercial Building.

Peacock Lane Home opened in the building that was Connells Maple Lee Flowers... Maple Lee before that... we visited a week ago Saturday.

Further south... south of South Street, the restaurant that was Guido's then something else... combination of the words Clintonville or Beechwold and Worthington? On High St. just south of W. Selby. The building had been a Thai or other Asian restaurant in the early 90s... I asked what was going there recently and was told it was going to be shops.

Don O'Brien Dok1 on Flickr's photo is shared with a Creative Commons license which allows me to use this photo here. Visit his Flickr photo stream for lots of old photos of the Worthington area intermixed with photos of his other interests and travels.

A Moving Experience - Real Living HER Worthington

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M. Barkhurst

Where the current building sits just south of W. Selby on the west side of Rt 23, there use to be a large house that housed an Italian restaurant named Ann Ton's. The house and restaurant stay there until the mid to late 50's, when the owners of the restaurant finally tore it down and built the current building in the mid 50's. Ann Ton's remained there until the mid to late 60's, when it became an oriental restaurant I believed named Peacock and had a large sign on the building of a peacock.

Sometime during the early 50's, Clark Chevrolet became Maylon Maxton Chevrolet, and remained there until until about 1964 when they moved into their new building where the current Chevrolet dealership is located on 161.

Worthington Motor Sales became Worthington Ford I guesstimate in the early 50's. They then moved to their new location on the side of Rt.23 where the Bob Kiem Ford dealership use to be. In the 50's and 60's it use to be a big deal when the new models hit the showroom floor, and they even use to hide the new models until the day they were introduced by the manufacturer. Back then models usually completely change every 3 years, but they still had significant changes every year with mostly sheet metal changes to the body using the same frame and other major components. It was a major event when the new models were into, and wducedWe kids were always excited for the introduction day, because they would give us balloons and other cheap trinkets thinking we would all take them home for dad to see.

Just south of the S.E. quarter of the village green, sat a long brick building right next to and touching the old Worthington Bank. At that location an office for a general practitioner reside. The doctor who practiced there in the 50's and to about the mid 60's was named Dr. Bonnell. Before him, his father practiced in the building. I think its safe to say they were Worthington's town doctor. They didn't take appointments, it was first come, first served, unless you had something like a broken arm or leg. In the 50's, they also did house calls if you were too sick to go there.

If Guildo was the second building south of New England, that building use to house a Rolls Royce dealership during the early 70's. Before that it was a Plymouth dealership. It's probably hard to believe a Rolls Royce dealership was once located in downtown Worthington. I believe the dealership then moved to someplace in Granview.

Jul 06, 2011 09:56 AM

Maureen McCabe

HER Realtors - Columbus, OH

Columbus Ohio Real Estate

What was Guido's and then something else..."combination of the words Clintonville or Beechwold and Worthington?" and is going to be shops is pretty far south, kitty corner from St. Michaels church.

I think the place that was the succession of car dealerships is La Chatelaine now, restaurant and bakery. I think that is second building in from N. England. On Flickr, on one of Don O'Brien's (dok1) a relative of the family who owned at least one of the car dealerships commented that La Chatelaine used to be an automobile business.

Thanks for all the info.

Jul 06, 2011 10:58 AM

CW Gathers? the later restaurant...was Guidos before, and an Asian restaurant before that? The most recent restaurant south of W. Selby (?) C for Clintonville. W for Worthington...

Jul 07, 2011 02:41 AM

Bette Fracasso

AnnTons Restaurant closed in 1973 when I was sold & became Peacock Inn.

Feb 17, 2014 05:12 AM

LAVENIA PUTNAM

I have been trying to find out some info on Ann-Ton's Restaurant. I have a Litte Ted Book that was used in 1955 from their restaurant. Was interested in the history behind it.

Sep 04, 2018 12:06 PM

I meant Little Red BookIt says ANN-TON'S RESTAURANT

Sep 04, 2018 12:08 PM

Old Worthington Businesses

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